Independent probe on Speaker’s mind

SHILLONG, May 23: Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh said he will ask the High-Powered Committee (HPC) to institute an independent probe for finding out why the recently-installed central dome of the new Assembly building in Mawdiangdiang collapsed on Sunday.
“I will propose this in the HPC meeting to be held tomorrow. Maybe the members have a better idea. But we need to ensure that the inquiry is completed and its findings submitted soon,” he told reporters on Monday after a review meeting with the engineers who are overseeing the construction of the new Assembly building.
Lyngdoh said he will also press for a third-party audit by any agency to assess the safety of the building’s left and right wings.
“We need to find out if the collapse of the dome atop the central hall also affected the two portions of the building,” he added.
The Speaker said there could only be two possible reasons for the collapse of the dome – faulty design and construction error.
“I have discussed the matter with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and requested him to be at the site for a physical inspection of the damages to the structure at 11 am on Tuesday,” he said.
He further said a representative of Delhi-based firm Design and Associate would also be present during the inspection to find out if the incident was due to the faulty design of the structure.
Lyngdoh said the engineers who visited the site on Monday were unable to find out the reasons for the collapse because of the debris.
He said the tender of the project was floated by PWD (Buildings) since the Assembly Secretariat does not have technical experts. “PWD (Buildings) officials are there to monitor the construction of the project,” he said.
On the demand for a CBI probe into the collapse, Lyngdoh said the priority was to fix responsibilities.
“My role is to ensure there is better coordination among various departments for the smooth implementation of the project,” he said.
Stating that he was not aware if the project cost has been revised, he said he only knew that the tender value of the project was Rs 127 crore.